The Soul Reaper L'cie
by TheRealMcLovin
Summary: It's been six months since the Thousand Year Blood War ended and Ichigo finds himself plagued by strange dreams of a silver haired boy and pink-haired young woman. Now, with his memories as Hope Estheim awakened, he finds himself on call once more, this time to save his old home. How will his friends react to his return from the dead? Find out in The Soul Reaper L'cie!
1. Chapter 1

** Hey there party people! First of all I'd like to apologize for being gone for a year and a half but life got in the way. What are you gonna do? Anywayyy I'm here to give you all the first chapter to a story that I am VERY excited about. Now without further ado, I give you the first chapter of ****The Soul Reaper L'cie (****at least until I come up with a better title.)**

** DISCLAIMER: I own neither Bleach or Final Fantasy, they are the property of Tite Kubo and Square Enix respectively. I make no profit from this fanfiction.**

_"There is no can or can't, some things you just do." A pink-haired woman preached to a young, silver` _

_ "Let me take point this time."_

_ "Call me…Light"_

_ "I promise I'll try to protect you too."_

_ "Here, hold onto this for me," requested the woman as she handed the young teen a small knife. "I'm going to want that back someday so don't lose it. Okay, Hope?"_

An orange-haired teen abruptly awoke from his slumber. _'That same dream again'_ he wondered. The young man in question was none other than Ichigo Kurosaki: Substitute Soul Reaper, Hero of the Winter War, and Slayer of the Quincy Emperor, Ywach. To the spiritually unaware, however, he was Ichigo Kurosaki, High School Graduate. It had been six months since the end of the Thousand Year Blood War and the end of the Wandenreichand their leader. Ichigo was now on summer vacation, contemplating his future. He was already determined to go to university in Karakura Town, wanting to continue his duties as the protector of the reiatsu-rich town. It would seem his friends were of a like-mind as they had also elected to remain in Karakura to continue their schooling

But, unlike his friends, he was at a loss as to what to major in. Chad wanted to study engineering while Uryu had to chosen to study business out of the desire to open his own textile shop due to his natural skill with a needle and thread. Orihime had expressed a desire to pursue a degree in nursing while Tatsuki wanted to study law enforcement. Quite fitting choices, considering the personalities of the two girls.

He didn't know what Keigo, Mizuiro, and Chizuru had planned. Last he heard, they had gone out of town for vacation a week ago when summer break started. Ichigo laid back in his bed and let out a small sigh before looking at his alarm clock. He was just in time to see the numbers transition from 7:59 to 8:00 A.M. He knew what that meant. And, like clockwork (no pun intended) his ears were met by the same shout he had heard nearly every day for the last nine years of his life.

"GOOOOOOD MOOOOrNNNNING IIIICHIGOOO!" shouted a figure as he leapt into the room poised to kick Ichigo.

With practiced ease, Ichigo opened the window and got out of the way, letting his attacker go straight out the second story window before hitting the ground. The teen poked his head out the window and glared at his attacker.

"Damn it Dad! Every morning with this crap!" shouted Ichigo for what had to have been the ten thousandth time. The subject of his ire, dressed in flannel pajamas with his black hair spiked up in the front and a faint goatee was none other than Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father and former Captain of Squad Ten of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad in Soul Society. Given his tendency to act like a child, he still sometimes found it hard to believe he was once a Captain, let alone one of the most powerful Soul Reapers to have ever lived. It was only made more embarrassing by the fact he has been "alive" for centuries yet still acted like he was ten years old.

"Good reflexes son! I have taught you well!" yelled Isshin from his prone position.

"Damn goat-faced idiot," muttered Ichigo before closing the window and getting ready to go downstairs and get breakfast. Two minutes later, Ichigo was clothed in a pair of jeans and a red-and-white shirt with the number 15 on the back. Upon arriving in the kitchen, Ichigo was greeted by the sight of his younger twin sisters, Karin and Yuzu. Despite being twins, the girls were essentially polar opposites.

Yuzu, the younger of the two by five minutes, looked just like her mother, having identical brown eyes and hair that she kept styled in pigtails with a hair clip on the right.

Not only did she match Misaki in appearance, her personality was highly similar as well. She was a gentle soul, always being kind and courteous to others and always willing to provide help to those who need it. Ever since Misaki had perished at the hands of a Hollow known as Grand Fisher (who was thankfully slain by Isshin years later)she had assumed the roles she had left in her passing. She cooked, cleaned, and even did the laundry. She was a real mother hen.

Karin, on the other hand, was nothing like her younger sister. She took more after their father in the looks department with her black hair and matching eyes. As opposed to being soft-spoken she was brash and aggressive, her aggression most prominently displayed when hitting the Kurosaki patriarch for his stupid antics.

Karin was a tomboy through and through. Rather than wear dresses and talk about boys, she would wear more masculine clothes and play soccer.

Despite being radically different, the fraternal twins were extremely close.

As was typical for a Saturday morning, Karin was lying on the couch watching TV while Yuzu was preparing breakfast.

"Morning," Ichigo yawned as he ran a hand through his spiky orange hair.

"Morning," grumbled Karin while Yuzu happily returned the greeting.

"Good morning!" chirped Yuzu. "I hope you're in the mood for pancakes!"

"Sounds good," mumbled Ichigo as he sat down at the table, still half-asleep.

"I'm sure it will be delicious my darling daughter!" exclaimed Isshin, having managed to sneak back inside. He didn't seem any worse for wear despite his "fall" from the second floor window.

"Who let the idiot back in?" muttered Karin, causing Isshin to prostrate himself before the glamor shot poster of his late wife. Anime tears ran down his face.

"My darling Misaki, see how mean she is to her father!? She's surely been corrupted by her brutish brother's behavior! It's only a matter of time until he corrupts little Yuzu!"

"Shut up, damn it!" roared Ichigo before kicking his father into a wall, knocking him out cold.

"Idiot," muttered Ichigo, Karin silently nodding in agreement. Yuzu, however, ran to her "poor" father's aid.

"Yuzu, I'm just going to have two plain pancakes to go, I'm heading out!" called the Substitute Soul Reaper, sensing two familiar reiatsu signatures heading towards his vicinity.

Not even waiting for a response, Ichigo grabbed two fresh pancakes, slipped on his sneakers, and left the house.

It took Ichigo less than two minutes (in which time he had devoured both pancakes) to meet up with the two familiar reiatsu signatures.

"What the hell do you guys want? It's the weekend!" grumbled the orange-haired teen.

"Why Ichigo! Can't an old friend come by and say hello?" said a jovial voice.

The owner of said voice was none other than Kisuke Urahara, former Captain of Squad Twelve and "humble shopkeeper" (as he often refers to himself.) He was also the one to restore Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers the first time around as well as train him in preparation to storm Soul Society to save Rukia. He did, however, leave out the tidbit of information that one of the Captains was a traitor with an object of great power within his reach; an object made by Kisuke himself.

Kisuke Urahara was a tall, lean-built man who stood 6"0, with grey eyes, messy pale-blond hair, a light stubble, and almost pale shopkeeper sported a dark green coat with a white diamond pattern along the bottom with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. As if he didn't already stick out enough, he wore a pair of wooden sandals (geta) as well as a striped white and green bucket hat that cast a shadow over his eyes. Clutched in one of his hands was a cane.

"Yeah, can't a lady see her student?" teased another voice, this one female. The teen looked over and sure enough, there stood Yoruichi Shihoin, former Stealth Squad Commander, Goddess of Flash, and Kisuke's best friend.

She was also the most shameless woman he'd ever met. Possessing the ability to switch forms between that of a cat and her current human appearance, she would transform into her human form in front of Ichigo, it wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that she would be naked every time.

Yoruichi was much smaller than Kisuke, being a mere5"2. The slender woman was an extreme contrast to the shopkeeper with her dark skin and gold eyes as opposed to Kisuke's pale skin and gray eyes. Her exotic purple hair was pulled back in a high ponytail.

Her attire consisted of a backless, sleeveless, black undershirt beneath an orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder. She also wore black stretch pants and brown, lightweight shoes.

In terms of accessories she wore a beige sash around her waist and matching arm and leg warmers.

"Not when it comes to you two. Every time you guys show up I end up getting dragged into some sort of trouble," scowled Ichigo.

Urahara coldn't help but laugh in response. That certainly seemed to be the case.

"Just get to the point, Hat-n'-Clogs."

"Always straight to the point, eh Ichigo? Alright, I thought you might want some answers about those dreams you're having~" sang Urahara.

Ichigo frowned. They were just dreams… weren't they?

"They're not just dreams, Ichigo~" said Urahara in that same sing-song voice before walking away, Yoruichi in tow.

Ichigo wordlessly followed while trying to make sense of the shopkeeper's cryptic words.

It took the trio a mere five minutes before they reached the Urahara Shop, a rather… homely wooden establishment.

Once they made their way inside. Ichigo was surprised by what he saw. Standing there, in the middle of the room, were all his friends. First there was Yasutora Sado, a.k.a. "Chad." Chad was a half-Mexican, highly muscular 6"5 giant. He had wavy brown hair with bangs that partially obscured his brown eyes. On his face was a small goatee. He was currently clad in a Hawaiian shirt, black jeans, and boots. Around his neck was a coin gifted to him by his late Abuelo. Ichigo had risked his life for that same coin after Chad backed him up when he was attacked by thugs.

Next there was Uryu Ishida, the last of the Quincies. Uryu was a 5"9, bespectacled teen with black hair, blue eyes, and black, chin-length hair parted to the right side of his face. The Quincy was clad in a double-breasted white coat,with a matching mantle, pants, and shoes. On his clothes were blue lines, forming the shape of a Quincy cross.

He and Ichigo may not have met on the best of terms but, they were now steadfast friends, each willing to put their life on the line for the sake of the other.

Lastly, there was Orihime Inoue, a well-endowed, orange-haired, grey-eyed, 5"2 beauty. Her orange hair framed her face, extending all the way down to her waist.

In terms of clothing, she wore a pink shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Pinned to the collar of her shirt were two hair pins.

They were his friends, his comrades. They had fought side-by-side, risking life and limb for one another without hesitation. Ichigo knew he could always count on them to have his back.

"Uryu? Chad? Orihime? What are you guys doing here?"

"Mr. Urahara said you'd need our help with something so…here we are!" chirped Orihime while Chad nodded silently in agreement.

Uryu scoffed at the declaration. "I only came to make sure you all don't get in over your heads."

Ichigo rolled his eyes in response. It had been almost three years and he couldn't admit he was helping because they were friends.

"Alright Hat- n'- Clogs, why are we-" Ichigo was cut off as he felt something pierce his neck. He grabbed at the offending object and saw that it was a syringe.

"What the-" Ichigo was once again cut off as he fell to his knees in pain, grasping at his head. It felt like his skull was being pierced by a thousand white-hot needles. The source of that pain was a lifetime of memories surging to the forefront oh his mind.

He remembered _everything_.

He remembered his life as the fourteen-year-old l' Hope Estheim. He remembered the purge, his mother's death, becoming a l'cie. Most of all he remembered his friends. Snow, Vanille, Sazh, Fang… and Lightning. He recalled fighting against the Sanctum and setting their goal to overthrow the Fal'cie so as to save Cocoon. Lastly, he remembered the battle against Orphan, the battle in which he was struck down.

After what seemed like an eternity the pain faded away to a dull headache. Lightly sweating, Ichigo rose to his feet before glaring at Urahara. The syringe in his neck had Urahara's name all over it, figuratively and literally.

"What the hell?! That hurt damn it!"

"I didn't know the process would be _that_ painful. But that's what guinea pigs are for! Now I _know _it's painful rather than just being ninety percent sure!" Urahara smirked behind his paper fan that he'd pulled from somewhere inside his coat.

"What the hell was that anyway?"

"Just a little something to jog your memory. I've never had to actually use it though."

"Would someone be so kind as to explain what the hell that was all about?!" Uryu demanded.

"Well, Ichigo, tell them~' sang Yoruichi, who had remained silent since they left for the shop.

Ichigo scowled at her then turns around to fill in his friends on what he had just explained. By the time he finished his tale, thirty minutes later, all three of his friends had gob-smacked expressions on their faces,

"Damn, Ichigo! You never cease to amaze," spoke a gruff voice.

Ichigo turned to the source of the voice and saw a group of six people. They were all dressed in the standard garb of a Soul Reaper, a black shihakusho ( Garment of dead souls) except for three who wore white haoris.

First was the speaker, a 6"2 male with longish red hair and brown eyes. His most unique feature was the tribal tattoos covering his entire back, much of his torso, his arms and legs, and even his forehead. His forehead was covered by a maroon bandana. He wore long, dark straps on each wrist with bandages on both arms.

At his waist was a katana with a red sheathe and handle and a rectangular tsuba with a jagged design on it.

He was Renji Abarai, Lieutenant of the Sixth Division.

Standing next to him was a small, raven-haired young woman. She stood at a meager height of 4'8 and-a-half and kept her hair cropped in a bob that hung about her face and over her violet eyes. Extending past her elbows, were white, fingerless gloves. Strapped to her left arm was a Lieutenant's badge. Sheathed at her side was a katana with a red handle and rectangular tsuba with a flamelike design on it.

She was Rukia Kuchiki, Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen. More importantly, she was one of Ichigo's closest friends. It was thanks to her that he had the power to save his family from a hollow three years ago. She was also the one who introduced him to the world of Soul Reapers and Hollows.

"There's never a dull moment when you're involved is there?" she smirked.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? No 'how are you' or 'it's good to see you? " cracked Renji.

"We have plenty of time to catch up later," Rukia interrupted, "First, I think it best if we brief our friends of the situation"

"We're here on direct orders from the Soul King; orders that pertain to you specifically.:

"How am I involved, exactly?"

Rukia plowed on without heed to his interruption."Our mission is to investigate a spike in Hollow activity in one of the several dimensions Soul Society monitors. The location of the spike is on a world called Gran Pulse, a place where any hollow activity whatsoever is unprecedented. His majesty, had the formula to awaken you r memories sent to Kisuke."

Ichigo opened his mouth to ask how the Soul King knew of his previous incarnation only to shut it when he realized that would be a stupid question.

"So what? I'm supposed to be your guide or something?" asked the teen.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. We've also been sent two more guides to assist us. They're right in the next room," Renji said.

As if on cue, two people emerged from the room indicated.

The first was a tall woman of 5'9 with wavy brown hair (a lock of it being held behind her ear by a braid.) She had mesmerizing green eyes with a beauty mark underneath the right. Hanging from each ear, was a purple, claw-shaped earing. Her right arm and shoulder were marred by a few scars. On one shoulder was a faded white tattoo.

Her outermost layer of clothing resembled a blue, traditional Indian sari. Underneath were a short black top, detached sleeves, and open-toe leather sandals. Two fur pelts hang from a cord beneath her belt, which, carried a red spear.

The second girl was much shorter standing at 5'3 and had green eyes with light red hair tied in two curled pigtails. Going through each ear was a silver hoop. She wore an orange and yellow skirt, beige boots, and a pink halter her waist was a fur pelt that carried an oddly shaped staff,

She wore numerous bracelets and had beads decorating her apparel. Three beaded necklaces hung around her neck.

The Karakura group looked at the new arrivals in confusion except for Ichigo, whose mouth hung open in shaped.

"Fang? Vanille?"

**And that concludes Chapter one of The Soul Reaper L'cie! Being the tease I am I decided to end the chapter on a cliffhanger. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! In fact, next chapter will be from Lightning's POV while I'll explain Fang's and Vanille's appearance later on via flashback. (Chapter three or so.) I am SOOOO glad to have gottien this done!**

** As always, please read and review! Until next time! Ciao!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Bleach and Final Fantasy XIII are the property of Kubo Tite and Square Enix respectively. In no way do I profit from this fanfiction. Please support the official release.

'Patrol duty may suck, but it sure beats sitting behind a desk,' thought Lightning as she made her rounds through New Bodhum. The beachside city had become the "capital" of Gran Pulse after Cocoon fell from the sky, an incident in which she had no small part.

With the fall of the Falcie, Cocoon was no longer habitable. Those who survived the small planet's fall, were forced to migrate to the surface of the world they had been conditioned to fear. New Bodhum was but the first of many successes in rebuilding.

Lightning was torn from her reminiscing when she felt a light tug on her skirt. Curious, she looked down and saw a wide-eyed little girl.

"Is there something you need?" she asked in the softest tone she could manage. Lighting had long learned that her gruff and sharp tone of voice was not advisable when interacting with children.

"You dropped this miss," said the little girl as she pressed something soft into Lightning's hand. Lightning looked down and saw that a green bandana now rested in her hand. Her eyes briefly flashed with sadness before the blue orbs regained their look of stoicism.

She crouched down to eye-level with the little girl, a rare smile on her face.

"Thank you. This bandana is very special to me."

Mumbling "You're welcome" the little girl looked down, embarrassed by Lightning's kind words.

She inwardly chuckled at the child's reaction, her demeanor reminding her of Serah's childhood shyness.

"My name's Lightning. What's your name?"

"Mary," squeaked the little girl.

"There you are, what have I told you about wandering off?" a middle-aged woman chided as she approached. If she had to hazard a guess, Lightning would peg her as Mary's mother. Their matching brown hair and button nose gave her suspicions merit.

"I'm sorry if she bothered you. Mary has a tendency to wander off, no matter how many times I tell her not to go off on her own."

Lightning rose from her crouching position, bringing her to eye-level with the other woman.

"She was no trouble at all. In fact, if it wasn't for her, I may have lost something very precious to me."

"She might be a bit shy, but she's always been eager to help."

"I noticed," said Lightning. "She reminds me of my sister when she was the same age."

"How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself my name's Helen. Thank you for watching over her. We should really be getting home now." Said Helen as she took her daughter's hand in her own.

Just as the mother-daughter duo turned to leave, Lightning called out. "Wait."

Lightning walked over to Mary, her hand fishing for something in her jacket pocket.

"There's an ice cream parlor that just opened up around the corner. Why don't you both go get ice cream. It's on me." Lightning offered as she held out a paltry sum of gil in her hand.

"You don't have to do that," Helen argued, hesitant to accept the money. Mary was of a different mind.

"Please, mommy? She offered to pay for it." Mary pleaded.

Lightning watched in amusement as Mary begged. It seemed all it took to draw her out of her shell was the possibility of ice cream.

"All right, all right. You've worn me down!" Helen conceded, much to Mary's delight. "That bandana must mean an awful lot to you, if you're buying us ice cream as thanks," noted Helen as her lips upturned in a teasing smirk. "By any chance was it a gift from a boy?" she teased.

At Helen's teasing, Lightning found herself breaking composure, an occurrence that was rare in and of itself.

Seeing Lightning's flustered state, Helen relented.

"I was only joking. Though, your reaction tells me all I need to know."

"That's not-"

"Thanks for the ice cream, have a good day!" said Helen as she led Mary around the corner by her hand.

Her red cheeks slowly started to revert to their normal pale state only to flare back up when she heard Mary's parting comment.

"She had pretty hair, mama." Lightning absentmindedly tucked her pink hair behind her ear, not used to being complimented on her appearance. She knew she was beautiful, but her cold, no nonsense demeanor had most men too nervous to even speak to her.

As Lightning tightly retied the bandana to her arm, she struggled not to think about the last person who complimented her hair. Ultimately, her efforts ended in failure, as they always did when she would try not to think about him.

"You have really pretty hair, Light."

Lightning forcefully blinked her tears out of existence at the memory.

"Why did you have to leave me, Hope," she sullenly murmured. Lightning wasn't allowed to sulk as her attention was forcefully stolen by the tight grip of a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, sis!"

Lightning inwardly groaned upon hearing the familiar words. Only one person ever called her "sis" in such a loud and obnoxious manner.

"What is it, Snow?" asked Lightning, irritation seeping from her voice. She didn't hate Snow, at least not anymore. After their shared journey as L'cie, that hatred had withered to annoyance.

"For someone who claims to be bad with kids, what you just did for that little girl says otherwise," grinned Snow.

Lightning huffed, unfortunately well-acquainted with the topic.

"Any idiot can do something nice for a child. That doesn't necessarily mean they excel at extended interaction with them," she argued.

"I know a certain set of twins that would disagree with you."

"Those two would find a rabid dog to be soft and cuddly," scoffed Lightning.

Snow let out a bark of laughter at her statement. "Those two are too sunny for their own good sometimes." Snow fell into step beside his sister-in-law, abruptly changing the topic. "It's been pretty quiet around town hasn't it? There's been less than three monster attacks in just as many months, Snow remarked in an almost sullen manner.

"It almost sounds like you're disappointed. Peace is a blessing; treasure it. Besides, I don't think there's anything left alive that could give us a challenge."

Snow grew sheepish at her remarks. "I guess you're right. It's not like anything's going to make its way past the city walls."

As the duo patrolled the streets, they found themselves greeted by the citizens of the sandy city.

Snow noticed Lightning tense up at all the attention they were receiving. "Most people tend to react, y'know, positively when receiving friendly attention," said Snow.

"Most people haven't been viewed as monsters by the same people who praise them. Just because you've forgotten, it doesn't mean I have," countered Lightning, her tone as hard as steel.

Snow sighed in exasperation. For as long as he'd known Lightning, she was never able to let things go. She'd rather make it harder on herself and hold a grudge.

"I haven't forgotten, sis. These people, these civilians who reeled with disgust at the mere sight of us, did so out of ignorance. Their whole lives, they had lies fed to them about the 'L'cie menace.' As I recall, we believed those lies too. That's why I've forgiven them. They were just sheep, manipulated by their shepherd."

Lightning grew silent for a moment as she mulled his words over in her head. After nearly a minute, she broke her silence. "That may be the most intelligent thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth. Then again, you've never raised the bar very high."

Lightning took great amusement in seeing him swell with pride, only to deflate immediately afterwards.

"You can be kind of mean sometimes, you know that?"

"You're the one who chose to marry-" Lightning's rebuttal was cut short by the deafening sound of glass cracking. Snow and Lightning warily scanned their surroundings for the source. Normally, Lightning would chalk it up to some punk kids vandalizing a store window; a rather prevalent problem in recent days.

Their search was ultimately fruitless, finding neither hide nor hair of the offender.

Lightning quickly covered her ears in recoil, the sound making itself known once again. Only this time, it was like someone had fired a shotgun right next to her ear.

The pink-haired soldier kept her hands clamped tight over her ears in a bid to escape any further hearing damage.

Her hands were ripped from her ears by a frantic Snow.

"LIGHTNING! LOOK AT THE SKY!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, desperate to be heard over their partial deafness and the panicked shouts of the citizens.

She turned her gaze skyward and was met by a bone chilling sight.

What was once a sunny, blue sky, now resembled a mural that had been smashed repeatedly with a sledgehammer. Cracks ran throughout the sky and were quickly growing.

There were several spots in the sky that were erased of their natural coloring, leaving behind inky black voids in their wake.

Lightning's breath hitched when she noticed several dark appendages begin to claw their way out of the sky.

"SNOW, SOUND THE ALARM!" Lightning frantically yells.

The blond was one step ahead of her, hurriedly fishing through his pockets. With a cry of triumph, Snow produced a hand radio. Putting the radio to his lips, Snow yelled into the device. "This is Snow Villiers to Control! I need you to sound the evacuation!"

A mere moment after the order was given, a deep voice made itself heard throughout several speakers situated throughout the city.

"Attention, citizens, this is a state of emergency! Please follow the Guardian Corps soldiers to the bunkers. This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!"

Men and women in matching uniforms poured into the plaza, corralling the frightened citizens and quickly leading them to safety.

But the beasts would not be denied. With a chorus of loud, bloodcurdling screeches, dozens of black blurs shot down from the sky.

Lightning could only hazard a guess at how fast they were going. Whatever the speed, with each landing the invaders obliterated the concrete below them, flooding the plaza with dust and debris.

With the baited breath and shielded eyes, the former L'cie looked on anxiously. They weren't kept waiting long as multiple loud wails rang through the air with enough force to disperse the dust in the air.

Lying in wait, with hunger in their eyes, were pitch black monsters, each of them in shapes reminiscent of the wildlife of Gran Pulse. Perhaps the most unsettling feature was the Cieth crystals jutting from their bone white masks.

"What the hell are those things?" breathed Snow.

Eyes blazing with ferocity, Lighting removed her gunblade from its case. "They're dead," growls Lightning before she charged a spider-like monster with her blade at the ready.

As she drew near her target, the arachnid desperately swung its spindly limbs at Lightning, strikes that she proceeded to duck and weave through with ease.

With a smooth thrust, Lightning plunged her gunblade into its mask. It was only now that they were face-to-face, that she noticed the gaping hole in its abdomen. It was as if someone had used a giant ice cream scoop to remove the the flesh, leaving nothing but empty space.

Its brain skewered by sharp steel, the masked creature let out one final wail before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Its wretched brethren took their fellow's final cry as a call to battle and proceeded to swarm all sentient life in the plaza. Their fellow monsters were no exception.

Any and all semblance of peace shattered, the forces of New Bodhum retaliated. Any soldiers who didn't take part in the battle were otherwise occupied evacuating the civilians.

"And she says I'm headstrong," muttered Snow as he joined the fray. He felt a familiar tingle as he called forth his magic from the well of power within him. His power brought to the surface, Snow directed it to his hand, forming a crackling ball of lightning.

"Thunder!" yelled Snow as he let loose the orb of electricity and fired it into a small horde of the masked invaders. Snow grinned in satisfaction at seeing them fry from the inside out.

Snow had no time to evaluate their status as he was beset upon by two monsters, both in the shape of lizards.

"Frost Strike!" Snow yelled as he drove an ice-covered hand into one of their skulls. Using his free hand, Snow shot a fireball the size of a small hover car at his other foe.

"Get out of my city, you freaks," Snow growled.

Lightning's POV

Lightning had never been more happy that she kept her Blazefire Saber in top condition than she did now.

Lightning's preferred weapon cut down her foes with ease. Each of the beasts (that she had dubbed "Hollows" due to the holes in their chests) were sliced through like a hot knife through butter.

Calling on her magic, Lightning let loose one of her favorite spells.

"RUINGA!" she cried as she launched a white orb of pure devastation at a group of Hollows. The ensuing explosion decimated them, leaving no remains.

Lightning cut down wave after wave of the Hollow invaders, but as their numbers grew, the soldiers' numbers steadily declined. She forced herself to look away from their half-eaten corpses. What alarmed her the most, was the signs of magical damage. Lightning blinked away her tears. There would be time to mourn her comrades after the battle. She took a small amount of comfort in the fact that the civilians had been evacuated safely.

Lightning's head swiveled to the left when she heard the loud crackle of electricity. Lightning's eyes widened when she saw the source was a ball of lightning forming in the mouth of one of the Hollows.

With a furious roar, the Hollow launched its attack directly at her. She managed to gather her wits about her in time to retaliate.

"Reflect!" she cried as a light blue barrier formed around her person just in time to intercept the attack. Lightning watched as the barrier did its job and reflected the spell back at the caster. The Hollow didn't know what hit it as it cried out in pain as it convulsed from the electricity coursing through its body. After several moments, its roars came to a halt, signaling its demise.

'They can use magic! This just got a lot harder' thought Lightning before she proceeded to reenter the battle.

She didn't know how long she had been fighting. It could have been forty minutes or forty hours.

Lightning felt herself growing fatigued, her sword arm starting to feel like it was made of lead. She wasn't faring much better on the magic front, having used nearly all of her magical power to counter the Hollows' own magic.

Lightning hissed in pain as she sustained a slash in her side, just one of many injuries she had accumulated during her battle with the Hollows.

Lightning clumsily swung her sword, lacking the energy to maintain her usual finesse. The battered and bruised soldier was met with resistance as her blade became wedged in the bone-white mask. Lightning summoned every last vestige of energy within her and with a tired grunt, cut the Hollow's head in two.

But Lightning had used too much force and threw herself off balance as a result. Lightning felt like she was falling in slow motion, the throes of battle slowing to a crawl around her.

After falling for what felt like hours, Lightning hit the ground with a hard thud. Upon impact, she vaguely registered her Blazefire Saber falling from her grip.

'So, this is how I die, eaten alive by a slew of monsters.' Lightning felt tears gather in her eyes. 'I'm sorry, Serah, it looks like the twins will never see their "Auntie Claire" again. Don't let that oaf spoil them rotten.'

Lightning's gaze wandered down to the bandana tied around her arm, miraculously undamaged in the battle. The sight of it brought a small smile to her lips. 'I guess I'll be seeing you soon, Hope' thought Lightning as she finally closed her eyes in acceptance.

Lightning braced herself for an agonizing death. After several moments of waiting she grew confused at the fact that she still lived. Were they perhaps savoring their victory, before partaking in their feast? No. That went against everything she had seen so far.

Lightning was torn from her thoughts as she heard the Hollows roar out. Rather than cries of victory, they sounded like the wails of the dying.

Lightning cracked open her eyes and found herself met by an unexpected sight. Standing before her was a teen with orange hair, dressed in a black robe with a blade in each hand. The Hollows that had subdued her lay dead at his feet, most likely slain by the massive blades in his hands.

Brown eyes met blue as the orange-haired stranger spoke.

"In Palumpolum, we made a promise to protect each other. I'm sorry I took so long to hold up my end of the bargain," he said in a deep voice.

Lightning's eyes widened at not just his words, but the sight of his form being overlapped by the ghostly image of a familiar silver-haired boy.

"Hope?"

And Bam! The second chapter is complete after a year and a half. Sorry I took so long to get this done. I had one draft almost finished a few months ago but I scrapped it because I didn't like it. Anywho, now that I've stopped writing my stories in my notebooks first, my stories should be updated more frequently.

I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out and I hope you all are as well.

Was there something you liked? Something you hated? Let me know in the review section. I welcome constructive criticism.

No flames please!

Until next time! Sayonara!


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